Unemployment Chronicles, Day 125: Fifty-Five

I turned 55 Saturday, and although birthdays and nice round numbers generally don't mean much, this one has some significance, because for the first time I am officially a senior for certain purposes.  Yes, AARP lets you in when you turn 50, but they are kind of an exception.  I still don't think I will officially be a full-fledged senior until I'm 65, or maybe 66.5, which is my social security retirement age, but 55 is a start.

First and most important, I can early retire at age 55, and in fact I will, from Farmers.  There are not a lot of advantages to early retirement -- I don't have a pension that I can live off, and my post-retirement benefits are minimal, but I do have a pension (very small), and I do get some help with health care.  Also, my brother tells me that I can now withdraw money from a 401K plan without penalty, which unfortunately may come in handy.

Beyond that, the benefits are smaller.  Jackie says I can get 10% off on groceries Tuesdays at Fred Meyer.  Some places give senior discounts stating at age 55.  The fun of taking them is maybe more important than the benefits.

As it turns out, this year approaching my early seniorhood has been challenging in terms of my health, so besides approaching a milestone birthday, I have had that reminder that I am getting old.  I found out from a routine physical that I have diabetes.  I just went through testing for thyroid cancer again, at least partly because my endocrinologist sees a lymph node in my neck that may be cancerous.  I had periods when I really did not feel well, in retrospect probably due to the diabetes.  I started taking blood pressure medicine.

Honestly, it hasn't been the greatest year.  These should be some of the best times of life, but they're off to a poor start.  Gotta fix that.